What the Return to Yunnan Launch Means for Tea and Coffee Drinkers

Chagee ended a roughly six-month gap in new releases by launching the "Return to Yunnan" ripe pu'er series, three drinks introduced at once. One is a pure tea, while the other two break from the brand's light milk tea style. The most discussed, "Clouds Rolling, Pine Breeze," adds dried beef crumbles and black truffle, drawing divided reactions online.

Longtime customers also questioned the new packaged cup, about 350ml and visibly smaller than a regular medium, yet priced above the classic "Boya Juexian." Early reviews split between praise for the innovation and comparisons to barbecue dipping sauce. The launch follows months of user requests for fresh products, and the cup-size and pricing discussion continues.

After nearly half a year of silence, Chagee has finally launched a new product line, the "Return to Yunnan" ripe pu'er series, bringing three drinks at once. Among them, "Clouds Rolling, Pine Breeze" boldly adds dried beef crumbles and black truffle, breaking away from the brand's previous light milk tea approach. However, after launch, consumer feedback has been polarized: some praise the innovation, while others bluntly say the combination of beef and black truffle tastes like barbecue dipping sauce. What surprised longtime users even more is that the new packaged cup is only about 350ml, noticeably smaller than the regular medium cup, yet priced higher than the classic "Boya Juexian," sparking discussion about value for money. This article sorts out the new lineup, taste reviews, and cup-size controversy, and includes related recommendations from Front Street Coffee for coffee and tea drink enthusiasts.

▲

Click to follow | Daily specialty coffee culture magazine Coffee Workshop

Recently, Chagee officially announced through multiple social platforms the launch of a ripe pu'er series called "Return to Yunnan," with three new products unveiled simultaneously, exciting many fans.

(Image from the official account)

Looking back at the brand's official Weibo, Chagee had released no new product news since launching "All Things Spring Harmony" in mid-April this year. During the six-month silent period, many loyal users couldn't help posting complaints that "the old items are almost boring to drink," and some repeatedly left messages under the official account urging research and development. Because of this, when the news of the new launch was finally announced, long-waiting consumers immediately erupted, cheering, "It's finally here."

It is understood that the "Return to Yunnan" series includes three drinks, one of which is pure tea, while the other two are clearly different from Chagee's past style, rarely adding milk tea toppings beyond the tea base. In particular, a milk tea called "Clouds Rolling, Pine Breeze" actually incorporates dried beef crumbles and black truffle, immediately arousing strong curiosity among milk tea lovers.

On the first day of sale, eagerly awaiting fans quickly placed orders and shared their drinking impressions right away. However, judging from online feedback, the "Return to Yunnan" series that Chagee spent half a year polishing seems somewhat hard to describe in consumers' words.

Some people believe that the brand's move beyond its previous product framework centered on light milk tea and its launch of tea drinks with toppings is indeed refreshing. The new products each have their own strengths; for example, the salty-sweet "Clouds Rolling, Pine Breeze" is memorable because of the addition of dried beef. But other users feel that "black truffle + beef crumbles" appearing in a tea drink is slightly jarring, saying it tastes "like barbecue hot pot seasoning" and admitting they "can't accept food being put in milk tea."

Besides the major change in product style making it hard for light milk tea lovers to adapt, the new packaged cup Chagee used this time has also become a hot topic among netizens. Regular customers report that ordering pages such as the mini-program did not indicate the specific capacity of the new products, and only after receiving the finished drinks did they discover that the new milk tea cup was only palm-sized, noticeably shorter than a cold drink cup from a certain coffee brand when placed together.

Longtime fans say that Chagee's past product sizes were mostly a 470ml medium cup, a 580ml large paper cup, and a 620ml plastic cup. According to the brand's customer service response, the capacity of the "Return to Yunnan" series drinks is about 350ml, far from the regular milk tea size of more than 400ml commonly perceived by the public.

It is worth noting that the milk teas in the "Return to Yunnan" series are all priced higher than the regular medium cup of Boya Juexian. Therefore, for price-sensitive users, when the selling price is similar, the shrink in packaged cup capacity makes the new products less cost-effective than expected, and some joke, "The cup is so small, I thought it was specialty coffee."

Image source: Xiaohongshu

Disclaimer: Some images in this article are from the internet. For some content on the website, such as images, we will respect the original creator's copyright and indicate the source. However, due to the large quantity, a few images and texts may not have been credited in time. Please understand. If the original creator has any dispute, they may contact the website for handling, and once verified we will correct it immediately. Compiled and edited by "Coffee Workshop." Please indicate the source when reposting. If there is infringement, please inform us for deletion. Thank you ~ !

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.